Year: 2010

We started the hiking out hiking around North Seymour Island. After seeing a bunch of sea lions, very large birds, and perfect waves, we headed back to the boat to get the snorkeling gear. We snorkeled down current for about an hour seeing all kinds of sea life. It was the best day of snorkeling we had. It was warm, clear and plenty of things to see.

After lunch we headed back out but this time we headed to the highlands of Santa Cruz Island? We drove 45 minutes up into the hills to try and find giant turtles in the wild. After some searching we found 2-3 of these massive creatures. We also got to see a tunnel created by a lava flow. It looked like someone took a massive tunneled and just started drilling to nowhere.

We started the morning with a hike around Fernandia Island. We saw a bunch of iguanas, sea lions and birds. The landscape was very rocky and volcanic. After a long walk around the island we headed back to the boat.

After lunch we headed out to snorkel off the Coast of Isabella Island. There were hundreds of sea turtles in the area, but unfortunately, it was pretty hazy in the water due to the swell stirring up the sediment. It was very cool to swim with some 5-8 turtles at once! Then we got back in the dingy and motored around the island checking out the coastline.

Well today was probably the most demanding day thus far. It started with a long hike up to a lighthouse atop Bartholomew Island. There were some 350+ stairs and walkways traversing the mountain to the top.

After an amazing view of the surrounding islands we made our way down to the shore again. It was time for a swim. We grabbed our snorkeling gear and hit the water. I finally saw a white tip shark along with tons of other fish swimming by the volcanic island.

After lunch we went to Port Egas on James Island. There we walked for a while until we were again at the shore of volcanic rock. There we saw both regular and fur Sea Lions, crabs and Iguanas. It was a great hike around the shore on the way back.

Most of the cruise headed out today, which left only us on the excursion. We took a dingy over too Bachas Beach, Santa Cruz. We checked out some flamingos that were feeding in a pond. The white sandy beach was lined with sea turtle nests. We caught our first glimpse of a sea turtle in the ocean. There were some beautiful great blue herons and some large crabs on the beach.

We motored over to Santa Cruz to meet up with the cruise ship, had lunch and waited for the new guests to arrive. Grabbing the gear we headed out to Cerro Brujo to take a look around. This island was much different than the others. It almost looked like Hawaii a little. We saw a bunch of land iguanas. One even walked up to us on the trail, which was pretty neat seeing as how they are the size of a small dog.

As the sun was setting, we finished our hike with terrific light as I took pictures, we loaded the dingy and headed back to the boat for dinner.

Today we had to get started even earlier than the day before. We grabbed breakfast and then headed out to Santa Cruz Island. We explored the Darwin Research Station and the town of Puerto Ayora. We got to see a bunch of tortoises throughout the park. On the walk through town there were a bunch of nice galleries and we watched fishermen cleaning their catches with pelicans and Sea Lions waiting for scraps. We made it back to the boat in time for lunch.

After a much needed nap we gathered all the gear again and headed to the red beaches of Rabida Island. We did a hike around the island. We followed it up with a snorkel. We saw a bunch of cool fish, including parrot, starfish and blowfish.

It was an early wake up call. I headed outside to catch the sunrise but it was pretty cloudy. We ran downstairs to grab breakfast. Then gathered our stuff for a hike around Espanola Island. It was over cast for half the hike. We saw lots of Sea Lions, Iguanas, lizards and a verity of birds. By the end of the hike everyone was ready for a jump in the ocean. But it was back aboard ship for lunch and a break.

We again gathered our gear and headed out to Gardner Bay Breach for a walk on the beach, with all the sea lions, and then a snorkel in the ocean. It was rather hazy in the water, but we still saw some cool fish and even a stingray.

We were picked up early from out hotel in Quito and headed to the airport. We flew from Quito to San Cristobal Island where we were to meet our boat. It was hot, humid and breezy, as we exited the airplane. Once we were transported to the harbor we were greeted with seals and a dinghy ride to the boat. On the way, there was a very nice left peeling off the point.

After lunch we gathered our things for our first adventure. We were motored over to Wizard Island. We walked the beaches and became acclimated to our first views of the wild life and pristine surroundings. After a long walk up and back down the coast, I went for a dip in the ocean. It was warm clear and perfect. There was a sand bottom and we had blue-footed boobies diving all around us. It was back to the boat for an all time sunset and dinner. What a first day!